portion

[pawr-shuhn, pohr-]

noun

1. a part of any whole, either separated from or integrated with it.

   I read a portion of the manuscript.

   Synonyms: segment, section
   Antonyms: whole

2. an amount of food served for one person; serving; helping.

   He took a large portion of spinach.

   Synonyms: ration

3. the part of a whole allotted to or belonging to a person or group; share.

   Synonyms: dividend, lot, quota, allotment

4. the part of an estate that goes to an heir or a next of kin.

   Synonyms: inheritance

5. Literary.,  something that is allotted to a person by God or fate.

   Synonyms: doom, destiny, lot, fortune

6. (especially formerly) the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband at marriage; dowry.

verb (used with object)

1. to divide into or distribute in portions or shares (often followed byout ).

   Synonyms: apportion, allot

2. to furnish with a portion, as with an inheritance or a dowry.

   All of his children have been amply portioned.

   Synonyms: endow

3. to provide with a lot or fate.

   She was portioned with sorrow throughout her life.

portion

/ ˈpɔːʃən /

noun

1. a part of a whole; fraction

2. a part allotted or belonging to a person or group

3. an amount of food served to one person; helping

4. law

   1. a share of property, esp one coming to a child from the estate of his parents

   2. the property given by a woman to her husband at marriage; dowry

5. a person's lot or destiny

verb

1. to divide up; share out

2. to give a share to (a person); assign or allocate

3. law to give a dowry or portion to (a person); endow

Other Word Forms

• portionable adjective
• portionless adjective
• reportion verb (used with object)
• unportionable adjective
• unportioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of portion¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English porcion, from Old French, from Latin portiōn- (stem of portiō ) “share, part,” akin to pars part

Word History and Origins

Origin of portion¹

C13: via Old French from Latin portiō portion, allocation; related to pars _part

Synonym Study

See part.

Example Sentences

Rising stocks also support the economy through the wealth effect—the tendency of households to spend a portion of each added dollar in wealth on anything from yachts to movie tickets.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The closing portion of “Sentimental Value” sharpens perspective, informing us that Trier’s film isn’t so much about the ties that bind as it is the unconventional methods of communication used to shorten their length.

Read more on Salon

The spending points to a solid holiday shopping season, which many retailers count on for a significant portion of their annual sales and profits.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And yet its inventor would only get to see a portion of the royalties after selling off some of the rights prematurely.

Read more on BBC

A portion of Earth's water resides in extremely small spaces, including molecular cavities found in protein binding sites or synthetic receptors.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• allocation 
• chunk 
• excerpt 
• fraction 
• fragment 
• lot 
• part 
• piece 
• quantity 
• section 
• segment 
• serving